On the island of Cyprus, Binance, the crypto exchange, is listed as “Under examination for application for deregistration” by its SEC.
JUST IN:🚨🇨🇾 Binance Cyprus Limited is applying for deregistration as a crypto asset service provider. #CryptoNews
— Walletor (@walletorapp) June 15, 2023
Binance seems to be getting ready to leave Cyprus. On its website, the Securities and Exchange Commission has written “Under examination for application for deregistration” next to Binance Cyprus Limited.
In October, Cyprus registered the cryptocurrency exchange as a Class 3 Crypto Asset Services Provider (CASP).
At the time, Binance said that the registration was “another milestone in Binance’s regulatory efforts in Europe” and “follows similar registrations for Binance’s local entities in France, Italy and Spain.”
Binance’s Activity in Cyprus
Class 3 is the highest level of service in the island nation. It lets the exchange store crypto assets, offer staking, and manage portfolios. Moreover, it lets it do a number of other functions in addition to offering a trading platform. Even so, a source at the regulatory group said that Binance never opened its services there.
“We are working hard to prepare our business to be fully compliant with MiCA [Markets in Crypto-Assets] when it is implemented in the next 18 months. To that end, we have made the decision to pull back efforts in Cyprus to focus on our efforts on fewer regulated entities in the EU, especially our larger registered markets,” said a representative for Binance to Cointelegraph.
On its website, the Cypriot regulator shows Binance as one of nine registered CASPs. Moreover, eToro and a Revolut company are two of the other names on the list. It is said that other platforms, like Crypto.com and Gemini, are getting registered in the island of Cyprus.
The crypto industry is getting ready for the MiCA law to go into force in the European Union next year. Cyprus is a part of the EU. Hence, MiCA rules will let Binance “passport” its registration from other European regulators to the countries that have to follow the new rules.
BINANCE’S CYPRUS UNIT HAS APPLIED TO DEREGISTER AS CRYPTO ASSET SERVICE PROVIDER IN CYPRUS – SECURITIES REGULATOR WEBSITE
— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) June 14, 2023
The US Securities and Exchange Commission sued Binance, Binance.US, and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. The lawsuit occurred on June 5, filing 13 charges against them. The charges encompass selling stocks without proper registration and failing to register as a securities exchange.
